Me and my shadow
by septumsempra
Summary: In the Patil Family, it seems that Parvati Patil will always live in the shadow of her sister Padma.  One-shot about the struggles of Parvati's life. Complete.


The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. This is a little one shot I wrote when I was bored, it was for my English class but I changed it around to suit the Harry Potter world. :)

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Parvati sat staring out the window. Her mask was on. The mask was an expression that she had mastered. It was a face that she wore so much that she could pull it off without a hitch. When she got upset, or frustrated the mask would go on, it was almost as though it was a reflex, she no longer controlled it. Her face would become expressionless, if it wasn't for the slight twitch in her left eye that showed her irritation, you'd think that she was a statue. Parvati didn't really remember when she had first started using her mask. It might have been when her sister Padma had received her acceptance letter to Auror training last year.

_"Want to go to Diagon Alley Pams?" Parvati asked her twin, Padma, with a hopeful look on her face. They were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast together. Their mother and father were upstairs getting ready for work. _

_"No," Padma curtly replied to her sister, crushing her with that one simple word. No, it was the word that she heard the most of when living in her house. No matter what it was that she asked, no matter who it was that she asked, it was always a no. However, that rule did not apply to her twin. No, as far as their parents Shefali and Rahul were concerned, Padma could do no wrong in the family, they showered her with presents and praise, Parvati would just bury the feeling she would get inside, and continue on with her day. Parvati sighed and looked away, out the window. She rested her heavy head in her hand as she stared at the birds flying so freely, unconcerned of the dangers that could be lurking around the corner. She saw a baby robin fall to the ground with its mother speeding after it. A mother's love for their child should be unconditional, so free; one shouldn't have to work for it, why couldn't she be like that baby bird? Why couldn't she be like Padma? _

_She heard her parents stomping their way down the stairs, no doubt they were about to start the morning off badly, judging by the ruckus that they were making._

"_PARVATI! Why is there no Chai?" Shefali demanded, coming to a halt in the kitchen, staring at the empty tea pot. Parvati sighed as she turned to face her parents__**. (Chai is a beverage, it is the brown way of saying Tea)**_

"_Mom, you know that I don't drink that, Padma drank it all," her sister shot her a glare._

"_Don't you blame your sister! You are so ungrateful, after everything we do for you; you can't even make your mother and father a cup of chai?"_

"_Sorry mom," she muttered, hanging her head down low, blinking rapidly so she could keep the tears at bay. This was just another typical morning in their household, something would upset her parents, they would take it out on her while Padma just sat there flipping the pages of her copy of the Daily Prophet, not caring about what went on around her. Little did Parvati know, her morning was just going to get worse. _

_They heard the pecking of an owl at the window of the living room._

"_Padma, sweetheart, could you please go and get the mail?" Shefali asked Padma sweetly._

"_Mom, I'm a bit busy at the moment, make __**her**__ go get it," she snapped back. Did she get yelled at for her rude tone? Of course not. Did Parvati know who she was referring to by the harsh way she said her? Of course._

"_Go get the mail," Shefali demanded. Parvati just knew that she was talking to her, even though she didn't even bother to look her way. She knew better then to argue; it would just end in trouble so she just buried that consistent feeling inside, and walked towards the owl. She opened the window and petted it softly before grabbing the letters and sending it off. Bills…Bills…Quibbler…Bills…Ministry of Magic…? The last two letters was addressed to her sister and herself. She walked back to the kitchen as fast as her feet would take her and said very excitedly,_

"_Pams! Look! There's a letter from the Ministry of Magic for you! And it's really heavy!" Padma's head snapped up to attention, she threw aside her magazine and snatched the envelope from Parvati's hand, not even thanking her for getting it. Their parents crowded around Padma, waiting with anticipation for her to open her letter. Parvati just stood there, with her own letter in her hand, she saw the scene of a happy family doting over their daughter, she didn't feel like she belonged. Instead of walking over and joining her family in the opening of the letter, she stood there, glued to her spot in front of the refrigerator and she read her letter to herself as her sister read hers aloud for everyone to hear._

_Dear Padma Patil, _

_We receive thousands of applications every year from students who are applying to the Auror program, unfortunately we must turn many of them away. You are not one of those people. We are pleased to inform you that you have received early acceptance into the training program. Thank you for applying. Included is all the information that you will need._

_Gawain Robards  
Head of the Auror Office_

_Padma squealed and jumped up out of her seat. She hugged her mother and father chanting, "AUROR, AUROR, AUROR!" Parvati stepped forward, wanting to share her own news with the family, almost immediately Shefali stopped smiling and stared at Parvati with a cold look on her face._

"_And where is your letter! Look at your sister, she has received early acceptance at the Ministry! What about you? You are so useless! You can't even do a simple thing like get accepted!" she screamed. Parvati tried, she really did, but she couldn't hold back her anger anymore._

"_WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" she cried. "I GOT ACCEPTED TO ST. MUNGOS! YOU JUST DON'T CARE OR BOTHER TO ASK ME ABOUT IT!" She waved her letter angrily in Shefali's face, which was clearly the wrong thing to do._

"_Don't you DARE take that tone with me! Who do you think I am? I am your mother and you will speak to me as such!" she hollered. Parvati just stood there, breathing hard with her chest rising up and down very fast, she was furious, but she knew better than to argue, so she'd just smile and bury down that feeling, after all, what else could she do?_

_She shook her head and walked away, she couldn't deal with this right now._

_"Congratulate your sister, Parvati!" Rahul yelled._

_Parvati immediately felt a sharp pang in her stomach. Not even her father cared that she got accepted to one of the best programs in the wizarding world. She knew that her mother was a harsh and cold person, but her father and she had always had that special connection, they used to be so close. "Congratulations," Parvati bit out and walked away, the mask placing itself firmly on her face._

Yes, that must have been the first time that Parvati had used the mask, but it certainly wasn't her last. Living with her family, Parvati had ample opportunity to use and master the mask. The mask was her weapon against the world. Her weapon to make sure that the world didn't know how much it hurt her.

She thought of her boyfriend, her parents had never been happy for them. It was all about Padma. For instance, last month, when both girls were visiting their parents, Padma had announced that she and her boyfriend were in love. Parvati had felt something that she couldn't identify, it was the same feeling that she would always get. She wished that she knew what it was, she hated not knowing, but she just pushed it down and forgot about it.

_"Mum, dad, I've been putting this off for a while," Padma smiled. It was her last night of the Christmas break and she was going back to training tomorrow, "but there's something I have to tell you."_

_Their parents exchanged a look. "Yes, dear?" Her mother asked, leaning forward in her seat slightly and looking critically at her daughter. She had known there was something different about her but hadn't been quite sure as to what it was._

_"Well," Padma began toying with the locket around her neck, "Theo and I are in love!" she grinned, she had a little twinkle in her eye that Parvati noticed, she always got that twinkle when she was happy. Their mother clapped gleefully, she was so happy for her daughter!_

_Parvati felt another stab of that feeling, sharper this time and right in her heart. She had always been so envious of the boys that Padma had dated; she had always gotten the wonderful men who were completely devoted to her. Even though they were twins and Parvati had the bubblier personality, Padma always got the guys that would make great future spouses, which was what mattered in their house. All that Parvati got was the unsupportive and lazy Michael. _

_"When did you tell each other you loved each other?" Their mother asked with a romantic sigh._

_"He told me yesterday, as we walked in the gardens after dinner," Padma also gave a romantic sigh. Like mother like daughter, they always say._

_Parvati felt like she was going to cry. She knew she should be happy that Padma had found love, but she couldn't help it! Michael had never told her he loved her! They'd been together for two years and not once did he let those three magical words come out. All he ever did was complain, talk about work, talk about himself or kiss her. _

Parvati straightened her neck and looked a little farther out the window. Parvati tried to keep her mask on as she looked out the window. But she couldn't! She struggled with tears as she looked down at her stomach. She knew she was fighting a losing battle as a tear fell and blurred the green ink.

"_Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you," informed Parvati as she sat herself down on the couch in front of her parents. They looked up from their work and Shefali snapped,_

"_Be quick, we don't have time to waste on talking," Parvati frowned, she was home for the weekend from her healer training, but her parents hadn't spent any time with her and she was leaving today, her bags were packed and ready by the door, waiting to be apparated out of there._

"_I-well you know that Michael and I have been together for a while now," Rahul frowned at her as he furrowed his brows._

"_What of it? You better not be getting married to that waste of space," he practically snarled as he analyzed his daughters left hand, making sure that there was no engagement rock on her finger._

"_I-I'm pregnant," she whispered. The room was silent, not a sound could be heard, only the quickened breaths of her parents._

"_What did you just say?" hissed Shefali._

"_I said I'm pregnant, two months," she squared her shoulders as she looked her parents straight in the eye. This was their chance, this was their chance to prove that they would love her no matter what, to prove that they really were good parents._

"_Get out," Rahul growled. Parvati gazed at him in shock, did her father just tell her to get out?_

"_Get out of this house! Don't ever come back!" he shouted, standing now. Parvati started to tear up and stared helplessly at her mother, looking back at her was a stony expression, void of emotion. Parvati sniffed and stood, _

"_Fine, but if you make me leave now, you will never get the opportunity to meet your first grandchild," she threw that out there, as a last-ditch effort to make her parents see the error they were making. Her father just pointed at the door, silently telling her to get out. Parvati bent her head low and walked to the door, grabbing her heavy bag. She stepped outside and opened her mouth to say "bye" as she looked back more, only to see the door slam in her face, with enough force to rattle the door frame. She was pretty much ostracized from her family, she had nowhere to go but back to her flat, she only hoped that Michael would take the news of the pregnancy better._

Another tear fell on the green ink, making the ink run together. They say that _yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery and today is a gift. _That quote applied to every single aspect of Parvati's life. Michael wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. Instead of telling her to her face, he wrote a letter and owled it to her; he wanted her to abort the baby and to never come near him again. But she couldn't do that, this was her baby. This baby was a part of her, this was her child. She would never do anything to harm it. In that one heart-wrenching moment she realized something; she realized that though she didn't know what would happen in the future, she would have to go through this alone. Her parents didn't want her, Michael didn't want her, she had no one, and she was completely alone in this world, except for that tiny beating heart inside her. That baby was a gift; she would be able to give it something that no one had ever given her, love.

As she stared out the window one more time, she noticed a pair of twins laughing together as they chased each other on the streets. That used to be her and Padma. They were always together. That all changed around graduation when her parents started to treat Padma differently from her. It struck up completely new feelings inside Parvati, ones that she had never experienced before. She never did quite understand what these feelings were that she was having towards her sister, but now she did. It was _jealousy,_ and this jealousy was slowly, but surely, starting to take over her life, she could no longer bury it inside and just forget about it, it was like a tiger inside a cage, it was fighting its way out and she could no longer hold it back.

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Please let me know what you think about this. I know that Padma and Parvati are close but not in this story. So yeah, review please! :D


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